Saturday, July 7, 2007

Rolling Stone Owner a Global Warmer=Jann Wenner: Eco-Hypocrite

Another Eco-Hypocrite, media version this time. Sigh

Wenner's Gulfstream jet has an optimal cruising speed of around 493 nautical miles per hour. (That figure, and the ones that follow, are based on calculations for a Gulfstream IIB, Wenner's longtime ride. In fact, according to sources, these days he may fly the slightly larger Gulfstream IV; a Wenner spokesman did not reply to calls for comment.)

At that speed, the plane would produce around 80 tons of carbon dioxide during the 20-hour round-trip voyage between New York and Athens, and another 33.6 tons flying between New York and Sun Valley. Fun fact: According to the Environmental Protection Agency's emissions calculator, you'd have to drive a Hummer H3 200,000 miles to generate the same amount of carbon.

..."Lending out the jet is a huge part of Jann's starfucking," says an insider. "It's half the reason he has the plane."

Moreover, according to another Wenner source, the Gulfstream isn't his only emissions-intensive vehicle. He also recently purchased a GMC Yukon Denali—an SUV whose fuel efficiency is on par with that of the Hummer—and also keeps a pair of snowmobiles at his place in Sun Valley, Idaho. Snowmobile engines are notoriously dirty, producing as much pollution in a day of use as a typical car does in 100,000 miles.

And Wenner isn't much better when he's in town, where he has a chauffeured Mercedes to shuttle him the 15 blocks or so between his apartment and his office. Even more wasteful is his lunch routine: a private chef prepares his meal at home, then staffers drive it down to the office, don black-and-white uniforms, and serve it to him on his personal china. "It's like a scene from Gosford Park,"...Source